Week 65: to Sonmarg - 2742m: over Zoji La (3541m) into Kashmir - Racpat RTW 2015-2017

June 22, 2016

Week 65: to Sonmarg - 2742m: over Zoji La (3541m) into Kashmir

One more pass today, the Zoji La is the lowest pass to cross the Himalayas, but it has an enormous drop down into the Kashmir Valley.

We continue following the Drass River up the valley. The headwind is still there, and it looks like it might rain. The villages we pass don’t offer much, in Matayan we find a tea stall, we take a break and eat some cookies. Six kms on at Minamarg, there is one final passport and visa checkpoint and the tarmac returns. Just before the switchbacks start, we have some more chai at an army-run dhaba in Gumry.

The valley is beautiful green, there are many herds of horses, sheep and goats. Summer camps have been set up everywhere. The adults are fairly nice and have no issue with us taking their photo. The kids are beggars though, the outstretched hands and asking for baksheesh, pen, biscuit or chocolate. They pursue us and also run after cars full of Indian tourists. It must work sometimes, if travelers would only realize that giving children something may make themselves feel good, it only makes beggars of the children.

The top of the pass is a zoo, there is a large patch of snow where snowmobiles tow sleds and people up to ride back down. A dozen dhabas, hundred cars and many more domestic tourists probably getting their first taste of snow. At the beginning of the downhill, we have our daily military convoy pass by.

The downhill starts very rough, first on uneven paver stones, then gravel, then rocks, water like rivers on the road. We witness an awesome Indian traffic jam. A truck is struggling to climb the steep grade. He stalls and starts a chain reaction of trucks backing up behind him. Inpatient jeep drivers try to pass the stalled trucks and get to the front of the line, but are met with downhill traffic also trying to pass. There seems to be a wave of trucks coming up the hill, and all comes to a grinding halt. As we ride and walk down, zigzagging between the trucks and passing jeeps, the line quickly becomes several kilometers long. What mayhem, and all caused because people are impatient.

In the downhill, we meet Ryan and Erica coming uphill, he is from Ireland, she from Finland. They have been cycling or just over a year, came from Europe and are headed down into lowland India and towards Burma. We exchange information about each other’s route. They too say they’ve met so few cyclists.

We reach Sonmarg at about 3:30. First, we check out the tourist bungalow again, but they ask 4000 rupees for a room. Ridiculous! We settle on a 500 rupee room across the street at Hotel Himalaya. They are very friendly yet the linen on the bed is not so clean looking, this is when we really appreciate that we have our own sheets and pillowcases. They promise us hot water and end up bringing in a big bucket when the boiler in the bathroom doesn’t work. The TV doesn’t work either.

One more day cycling in India to Srinagar, supposedly all downhill, we’ll see, it’s never all downhill.